08/29/2026
CREW Corner
June 2026
Reaching further with VBS
The month of June marked the first VBS with me at the helm with my position. I love this picture as it speaks volumes and shows some of the “behind the scenes” of running VBS. This was the last night and the last closing for the week. The youth were all very into the singing and the dancing and I couldn’t help but stop and take a picture. This was a culminating moment for me and I wanted to take it in. It could not have possibly happened without the help of so many volunteers. I want to take this moment to give my sincere thanks to everyone involved. I stopped many of them to simply say, “I appreciate you,” and I do. So much planning, so many decorations, so many texts back and forth trying to ensure that everything would run smoothly for the week. I am proud to say that everything seemed to run very well. It takes so many people being involved for this to be accomplished. There were volunteers who were putting on the skits, singing the songs with the kids, and running the booth for the opening and the closing every night. There were volunteers who came in almost every night the weeks before setting up the decorations, moving tables and chairs, and rearranging rooms to ensure the kids would have an experience that is a little out of the norm. There were room leaders who took their time and put so much thought into their rooms and activities. There were so many that spent hours planning, cooking, and cleaning up for the meals that we had every night. There were group leaders that volunteered to corral the kids and bring them around to the various stations set up throughout the church. In short, there were countless volunteers throughout the week offering the community youth a safe place to hear about our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have been asked about numbers for the week, and honestly, I haven’t taken the time to specifically count every individual person who came through the door. Every night was different. Some nights we had more older kids, some nights we had more younger kids, and some nights more or less adults were able to make it to the adult class. I know we had families who are members of our church, we had some that aren’t members, and we had some families that were looking for a new church to call home. I walked across the street to one of the neighboring houses to invite their kids over. The neighbor kids will come out and join our CREW when we are playing outside. The kids asked their parents if they could come over for VBS, and then were able to make it several nights of the week. There were some kids that couldn’t make it every night because of their ball games, but then there were at least a couple that would come in their uniforms and leave early, just so they could be there as much as possible. The youth were excited to be there, and disappointed when they missed. That sounds like an absolute win in my book.
Every night I had the youth do their “homework,” which was to write down where they had seen God that day or week. Some needed help to write it down or even to explain what that meant, but all were able to come up with answers. Many put the church, VBS, parents, and family. Many just put things that they had done that were fun, like jumping in a bouncy house. All of these things show the Love of Christ. Kids may still be learning the ways of the Lord, but they know when they are happy and when others around them are happy. To them, feeling safe and loved is how they see and feel our Lord. I even made the adults do the homework as well. Sometimes we could all use a minute to stop and thank the Lord for what He has given us. I have saved all of the cards from the week with the answers everyone put down. If anyone wants a good read, let me know and I’ll show them to you.
This picture is one that I was caught taking in the first one. It gives a better view of the action, the excitement, and some of the results that came from the week of VBS. Yes it took some time and some effort, cost a little money, and put a little more wear on the church building. However, it’s hard to argue that it isn’t worth it when you look at the faces of the kids as they dance and sing, when you see new faces coming to church every Sunday, and when you read the cards saying that the church is a safe place where they see the Lord.
Thank you all once again for your support, and your volunteering efforts!
Brandon
